


Mostly Semantics

by LadyDrace



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Siblings, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, No Plot/Plotless, No Sex, POV Sam, POV Sam Winchester, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Kissing, Platonic Romance, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 20:21:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4535991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDrace/pseuds/LadyDrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Human terms can probably never truly describe the relationship between angels.</p><p>AKA Gabriel is trying to bond with Castiel, and Dean has a really hard time grasping the concept.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mostly Semantics

**Author's Note:**

> This is for my homie Smaych who gave me a lot of thoughts and told me to run with them. So I did. Thank you, love!  
> Unbetaed, feel free to point out any mistakes!

From what little Gabriel had let slip here and there, Sam had come to a few conclusions. First of all, that Gabriel, like his archangel brothers, had had his head so firmly stuck up his own ass for most of his life in Heaven, that he hadn't even known Castiel and his peers existed. Sure, they'd been there as a military force and underlings to call on when you needed grunt work done, but that had been the extent of it. And secondly... Gabriel was not proud of it. Not at all.

 

But however much he liked to be known as the world's biggest asshole, Sam was on to him. Had been from the moment he'd seen his trickster face crumble under Sam's tears.

 

Gabriel wanted to better himself. Which immediately put him light-years ahead of most of his brothers. And it was never more clear than around Castiel.

 

If Sam was being honest with himself, he sometimes let himself acknowledge that no matter how dear he was to Gabriel, Sam would only ever always be a human, and that would simply never be enough to compete with the eons of love Castiel had to share, even considering his _profound bond_ with Dean.

 

It did make him sad, occasionally, but Sam would never begrudge Gabriel any happiness. Especially after the first time he witnessed him and Castiel being intimate together.

 

It wasn't sex. Not in human terms, at least. But from the way they held each other, grace glowing behind their eyelids, it was been obvious they were having a moment. And even though they had definitely been aware of Sam's approach, they hadn't moved. So Sam sat down to watch, quietly, feeling weirdly blessed that he was allowed this glimpse into the emotional life of the two most baffling creatures in his life.

 

It probably wouldn't be interesting to any other onlooker to watch two fully clothed grown men lying on a bed and hugging each other, but Sam was riveted. Gabriel's usual fidgeting was completely absent, and Castiel looked relaxed in a way he never managed, even with Dean.

 

This, more than anything, convinced Sam that Dean wouldn't understand. Dean was of the firm belief that human love was the pinnacle of emotional connection, and anyone who thought otherwise was quickly labeled a monster. Since it was a big part of what had kept him going on with hunting for most of his life, Sam wasn't about to pull that rug out from under him. Dean wasn't ready for that, and Sam wasn't sure he'd ever be.

 

But Sam had always had a much more fluid approach to humanity, and it wasn't such a great stretch for him to accept his own insignificance in the greater scheme of the universe.

 

In any case, a few short months was literally nothing to an angel, and Gabriel's goals of closeness would probably take a lot more than a few human lifetimes. But even such short a time made an enormous difference. Especially for Castiel, who definitely could – and had – spit his superiors in the face, but really preferred not to. The sudden attention and affection from someone he had previously looked up to from what seemed like worlds away would have made any human suspicious. But it was as if Castiel was fundamentally unable to believe that any of his brothers could do anything but love him. Even if they tried to kill him, it was a certainty in his world that they only did so out of necessity, never ever out of malice.

 

So while anyone else would probably have responded to sudden tenderness from a known trickster with wariness at best and hostility at worst, Castiel just... embraced it. Literally and figuratively.

 

Castiel breathed deep, and his eyes fluttered open, icy glow fading slowly behind his irises before he turned his gaze to their audience.

 

“Hello, Sam.”

 

“Hey, Cas.”

 

Gabriel seemed utterly uninterested in anything that wasn't his brother, and Sam was only a little bit jealous. Sure, Sam was absolutely Gabriel's favorite human these days, but Castiel... yeah. No competition.

 

“Do you need anything?”

 

“Nah. Dean went out for a beer, and I just wanted to come back here and unwind a bit.” He pinched his lips for a second, wondering if he was overstepping a boundary of some kind. “Is it okay if I just sit here and watch?”

 

“Kinky,” came a sluggish quip from around Castiel's shoulder, causing a tiny amused pull of Castiel's lips.

 

“Of course, Sam.”

 

Releasing a breath he hadn't know he was holding, Sam smiled at Castiel. “Oh. Okay, cool. Gimme a head's up if I should plug my ears or cover my eyes, okay?”

 

“Even kinkier,” Gabriel piped again without even opening his eyes, and Castiel snorted.

 

“We will.”

 

Then he laid back down again, closed his eyes, and as the blue glow returned behind his closed lids, for a moment it looked like golden light circled over Gabriel's wavy locks, and Sam's breath caught in his throat.

 

After that it was like Gabriel decided that he was gonna love his little brother any time and any place, and the first time he popped in and stopped to nuzzle his nose briefly into Castiel's messy hair before addressing the rest of the room, Dean did a severe double take.

 

“So, guys, I poked around a little, and this djinn isn't actually a real djinn-”

 

“What the hell, Gabriel.”

 

Dean didn't even bother with inflection. Just let the words hang there, question mark utterly ignored.

 

“... 'scuse me?”

 

“What the hell was that you just did?”

 

Obviously in his shock he had completely missed how Castiel had sighed, his eyelids going half-mast from his brother's touch, but Sam hadn't.

 

“Dean, please don't freak out.”

 

Which was the wrong thing to say, and Sam should really have known better.

 

“Are you in on this bullshit too?!”

 

“What bullshit would that be, exactly?” Gabriel asked calmly, but even the grubby humans in the room could feel how the air suddenly crackled, signifying a pissed off archangel.

 

“That! That... fucking snuggly moment! What the hell are you trying to pull here, the guy is your own brother!”

 

“Oh boy,” Sam groaned under his breath, because this was not gonna be pretty.

 

Immediately confirming Sam's prediction, Gabriel leaned into Dean's space, hands gripping each armrest of Dean's chair, putting them nose to nose if Dean hadn't leaned even further back.

 

“Listen, asshole. I'm gonna say this, and I'm only gonna be nice about it once. First of all, the term “brother” is nothing but a word that the celestial entities in the room are forced to use, because your puny little minds cannot fathom all that we angels can be to each other. I could fuck Castiel up his perky little vessel ass right here and now, and it would still not be taboo in any sort of way in the eyes of my father. And, frankly, I care infinitely more about his opinion than I do about yours. Understand?

 

Secondly, I swore I'd stop fucking with you, and I have. I said I'd help you, and I am. So would it be too much to fucking ask that you keep your big, fat insecurities in your pants, and butt the hell out of my business?!”

 

Dean fumed. “What about your so-called brother, huh? Have you considered him in this, or are you just being a selfish prick like always?”

 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, and Sam would have been amused if not for how the air still crackled ominously. “Why don't you ask him yourself.”

 

And with that Gabriel departed without even a snap of his fingers, but he was obviously still pissed, judging from the gigantic clap of thunder rolling over them a second later.

 

“Prick,” Dean muttered, clearly ready to just get on with his gun cleaning, so sure he was in the right that he literally jumped in his seat when Castiel slammed a hand down on the table in front of him.

 

“Cas, what-”

 

“Next time you accuse my brother of somehow hurting me, it would be prudent of you to ask me beforehand. I may not be anywhere near as powerful as Gabriel, but the last time I checked I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself, up to and including rebelling against everything I have ever known for _your_ sake. So, in return, I would appreciate if you would trust in the future that I am in fact not in need of our protection, and – as my brother so aptly put it – butt the hell out.”

 

Castiel hadn't even raised his voice, but Dean looked like he'd been slapped, and he stayed frozen in shock long after Castiel left, opting to use the door rather than the dramatic disappearing act.

 

It got better after that. Not much, but at least Dean kept his distrust and dislike to a low simmer, rather than constantly lashing out. It had been hard enough for him to accept that Gabriel was involved with Sam, but that had gone a lot smoother once Sam had explained that it was ninety percent sex, not much chance of heartbreak. It might not be entirely accurate, but it kept Dean off their backs, which was the best Sam had ever hoped for, really.

 

Gabriel, however, would always be Gabriel. And while he had kept his word about not jerking them around anymore, he never bothered hiding how happy it made him to rub Dean the wrong way.

 

Sam assumed that was the reason for Gabriel's timing when he suddenly turned to Cas, who was sitting next to him on the couch, and pulled him into a kiss without warning. Castiel didn't even remotely resist, but simply went lax against his brother, and left Sam to sit there blinking with surprise.

 

Not five seconds later Dean strode into the room, and promptly stopped dead in the doorway. “Aw, man. Dude, that's.” He cut himself off abruptly and elected to slam the door behind him instead of launching into the rant obviously boiling right under his skin. He sat down at the sticky motel table and started angrily leafing through the car magazine he'd bought while he was out for salt and lighter fluid.

 

“Gabe, really?” Sam hissed under his breath. “Now? Seriously?”

 

Only then did he realize that the kiss wasn't really a kiss as much as just open mouths pressing together, and, as he watched, the glow started behind their eyelids again. And suddenly also between their lips.

 

He went still, gaze stuck on the angels, and threw a balled up piece of paper at Dean. He missed, but it was enough to get his attention.

 

“What,” Dean grunted, but stopped dead half way through turning around, now also openly staring at Gabriel and Castiel.

 

The glow between them increased until it became almost painful to watch, but then it slowly faded again, and Castiel pulled away slowly with a bone-deep sigh.

 

“Gabriel,” he breathed, blinking sluggishly “Brother. Thank you.”

 

“Anytime, lil' bean,” Gabriel said, voice slightly croaky. He then turned to Dean. “Don't say I never did anything for you.”

 

And with that, he popped away, leaving Cas sitting on the couch, dazed and a smile slowly widening on his face.

 

“Dean,” he whispered, and Sam silently congratulated his brother for not being a shithead for once when he all but leaped out of his chair to get to Castiel.

 

“Cas, you okay?” he asked, hands hesitantly reaching out until Castiel grasped them in his own.

 

“Yes, Dean. More than okay. I'm... Gabriel, he... Dean, he restored my grace. I'm no longer fallen.”

 

Even Dean could understand the significance of that gesture, and he granted Cas a wobbly smile. “Wow, Cas, that's... I'm real happy for you, man.”

 

Castiel smiled back, and knowing Dean more than intimately, Sam was well aware what would come next, because his brother only knew two ways of dealing with emotions. Fucking or fighting. So he picked up his wallet and keys and left the room before he'd witness something that might not be taboo to an angel but would definitely cross a few of Sam's personal boundaries.

 

He started when he got into the empty car, only to find Gabriel in the passenger seat a second later, but, really, Sam should have known.

 

“That was a good thing you did, there,” he offered, once his heartbeat had calmed.

 

He expected Gabriel to shrug it off, but instead he just nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I just wish I'd done it sooner.”

 

Sam huffed. “Well, like we puny humans like to say, better late than never.”

 

“Guess that's true,” Gabriel said with a snort, and finally turned to face Sam. “You know they're totally boning right now, right?”

 

“Hah, yeah. Trust me, I'm well aware.”

 

Gabriel looked back in the direction of the room and grinned. “Way to go lil bro. That is some kinky shit. Barely two minutes with the tank full and he's going for a joy-ride.”

 

Sam sent him an unimpressed glare. “You've been spending way too much time with Dean.”

 

“It was either that or sports metaphors,” Gabriel offered mildly. “And just you wait, one day I'm gonna get you guys past all your dumb social norms so we can have a foursome.”

 

The bastard just smirked as Sam choked on air.

 

He made up for it with some spectacular road head later, though.

 

And Sam couldn't even feel bad since it was completely safe, because angel powers were cool that way.

 

End.

 

 


End file.
